Mark 15

Posted: 02 Nov 2006 @ 00:00

1As soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the
elders and scribes and the whole council. They bound Jesus, led him away, and
handed him over to Pilate. 2Pilate asked him, ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’
He answered him, ‘You say so.’ 3Then the chief priests accused him of many
things. 4Pilate asked him again, ‘Have you no answer? See how many charges they
bring against you.’ 5But Jesus made no further reply, so that Pilate was
amazed.

6Now at the festival he used to release a prisoner for them, anyone for whom
they asked. 7Now a man called Barabbas was in prison with the rebels who had
committed murder during the insurrection. 8So the crowd came and began to ask
Pilate to do for them according to his custom. 9Then he answered them, ‘Do you
want me to release for you the King of the Jews?’ 10For he realized that it was
out of jealousy that the chief priests had handed him over. 11But the chief
priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas for them instead.
12Pilate spoke to them again, ‘Then what do you wish me to do with the man you
call the King of the Jews?’ 13They shouted back, ‘Crucify him!’ 14Pilate asked
them, ‘Why, what evil has he done?’ But they shouted all the more, ‘Crucify
him!’ 15So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas for them;
and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified.

16Then the soldiers led him into the courtyard of the palace (that is, the
governor’s headquarters); and they called together the whole cohort. 17And they
clothed him in a purple cloak; and after twisting some thorns into a crown,
they put it on him. 18And they began saluting him, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’
19They struck his head with a reed, spat upon him, and knelt down in homage to
him. 20After mocking him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own
clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.

21They compelled a passer-by, who was coming in from the country, to carry
his cross; it was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus. 22Then
they brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means the place of a
skull). 23And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh; but he did not take it.
24And they crucified him, and divided his clothes among them, casting lots to
decide what each should take.

25It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him. 26The
inscription of the charge against him read, ‘The King of the Jews.’ 27And with
him they crucified two bandits, one on his right and one on his left. 29Those
who passed by derided him, shaking their heads and saying, ‘Aha! You who would
destroy the temple and build it in three days, 30save yourself, and come down
from the cross!’ 31In the same way the chief priests, along with the scribes,
were also mocking him among themselves and saying, ‘He saved others; he cannot
save himself. 32Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down from the cross
now, so that we may see and believe.’ Those who were crucified with him also
taunted him.

33When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the
afternoon. 34At three o'clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi,
lema sabachthani?’ which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’
35When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, ‘Listen, he is calling for
Elijah.’ 36And someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick,
and gave it to him to drink, saying, ‘Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come
to take him down.’ 37Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. 38And
the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. 39Now when the
centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he
said, ‘Truly this man was God’s Son!’

40There were also women looking on from a distance; among them were Mary
Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome.
41These used to follow him and provided for him when he was in Galilee; and
there were many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem.

42When evening had come, and since it was the day of Preparation, that is,
the day before the sabbath, 43Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the
council, who was also himself waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God, went
boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 44Then Pilate wondered if he
were already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he had
been dead for some time. 45When he learned from the centurion that he was dead,
he granted the body to Joseph. 46Then Joseph bought a linen cloth, and taking
down the body, wrapped it in the linen cloth, and laid it in a tomb that had
been hewn out of the rock. He then rolled a stone against the door of the tomb.
47Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where the body was laid.

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